Austin leaders to talk about the HOME initiative Tuesday

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- City of Austin leaders are slated to talk about the HOME initiative Tuesday, two days before Austin City Council is expected to vote on phase one of that initiative.

Speakers expected include Council Member Leslie Pool, who brought the proposal forward, alongside several local groups including the EMS Association, Habitat for Humanity and AARP Texas.

HOME, an acronym for Home Options for Middle-income Empowerment, is a series of proposed changes to Austin’s land development code — and other incentives for creating or preserving housing. It has several elements to it, and there are expected to be additional phases moving forward.

The following are the proposed changes in phase one:

• Three units: Bumping the number of units “by right” allowed on a single-family lot to three
• Tiny Homes: Patching loopholes in Austin’s land development code to more easily allow for tiny homes to be considered a unit on a lot zoned as single-family
• Preserving existing homes: Part of the HOME initiative creates a bonus program that encourages the preservation of houses already on lots
• House Size Limits: Setting “size constraints” to force smaller units

You can read KXAN's in-depth breakdown of the HOME initiative here.

Austin City Council will have a public hearing on Dec. 7 before discussing amendments — which are still being finalized by council members — and voting on the overall ordinance.